Strollers have been devised which are convertible into carseats. Not only does this minimize the cost of having two separate types of conveyances but avoids the necessity of lifting and carrying a carseat and child over extended distances. Among other problems associated with the combination carseats and strollers now on the market are the number of parts, the complexity of construction and operation as well as being somewhat cumbersome and heavy.
A child carrier of the convertible type as disclosed in U.S. Letters Pat. No. 4,620,711 entitled MULTI-FUNCTION CHILD CARRIER and overcomes a number of the problems associated with child carriers as enumerated above. A particular feature of the MULTI-FUNCTION CHILD CARRIER was the ability to utilize the handle portions of the stroller as a support when converted into a carseat so as to space the wheels above the seat upon which the carseat was to rest and avoid soiling of staining of the vehicle seat. It is now proposed in accordance with the present invention to further reduce the number of parts required for a convertible carseat and stroller and at the same time to design a unit that is conformable for installation in a molded plastic shell customarily of the type used solely as a carseat. The following patents are representative of the present state of the art in this field. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,828,281 to Sanchas discloses a convertible stroller/carseat but which is basically of two-part construction in folding the wheels into the shell when not in use. U.S. Pat. No. 4,685,688 to Edwards is directed to a combination seat and stroller in which both the front and rear legs as well as the handle portions are telescopingly mounted with respect to a molded plastic shell and separate support tubes are required for telescoping movement of each of the front and rear legs into the retracted position along opposite sides of the shell. U.S. Pat. No. 4,872,693 to Kennel discloses a convertible stroller with a linkage mechanism to pivot the wheels into a retracted position when not in use. Also, U.S. Pat. No. 4,822,064 to Hunter discloses the combination of telescoping and pivotal movement of front and rear wheels with respect to a frame which includes an upper plastic shell defining a back and seat portion for the infant. In addition, the handle portion is telescopingly mounted in a tube for the rear wheel assembly. In U.S. Pat. No. 4,762,331 to Tucker, the front and rear wheels can be pivoted into a raised position at least partially hidden within a molded plastic shell.
Other representative patents in this field are U.S. Pat. No. 3,290,050 to Ezquerra, U.S. Pat. No. 4,632,409 to Hall et al, U.S. Pat. No. 4,679,804 to Johnson, U.S. Pat. No. 4,874,182 to Clark and U.S. Pat. No. 4,878,869 to Molnar.